What To Consider When Hiring A Court Reporter

21 January 2016
 Categories: Law, Blog

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As an attorney, you understand that accuracy isn't just important inside the confines of a courtroom. Even when interviewing potential witnesses or performing a deposition, having an accurate account of any statement is important. For this reason, many attorneys choose to hire court reporters. While a great step, getting the most out of the reporter's services has a lot to do with you choosing wisely. While all reporters provide valuable professional services, it's important to find someone that is best suited to meet your specific needs. Here are just a couple of the factors to consider.  

Access To Technology

In this technologically advanced era, your legal practice undoubtedly relies on a number of different types of technologies to review and research case information. Computers, tablets and smartphones are just some of these devices. If this is the case in your office, it's a good idea to look for a court reporter or agency that has access to different technology sources when formatting transcripts.

If you rely on these devices, a paper transcript will do you little good. You want to work with a reporter that can transform these transcripts into a web or mobile friendly format, such as e-transcripts. It's also a good idea to ensure the reporter as access to a variety of testimony capturing devices including video and voice recording services to ensure your needs are best met.

Turn Around Times

For any case, accuracy isn't the only important factor. You also need to be able to comb through and provide evidence in a swift manner. One of the worst scenarios to find yourself in is a situation where you can't move forward with a case because you are still waiting on a transcript from the court reporter. Before working with any independent reporter or reporting agency, make sure you are getting feedback about their guaranteed turnaround times.

Having this type of information on hand can help you plan accordingly. For instance, in the event you know you won't have access to a video or document transcript for review before a deposition or some other preceding, you have the benefit of notifying the other parties involved that you may need an extension, rather than showing up ill-prepared.

Getting the most out of your court reporter requires you to do some research on your part. Make sure you are taking the time to find a reporter or reporting agency best suited to meet your needs.